Machine for facilitating the production of intaglio printing-forms.



' `m6993211. Patented May',19o2.

G. F. mcnmoe.

MACHINE FOR FAGILITATING THE PRODUCTION OF INTAGLIO PRINTING FORMS.

(Applichtionled Sept. 4, 1901.)

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Patented May 6, |902.

G. F. MmnoE. MACHINE FOR. FACILITATING THE PRODUCTION OF INTAGLIO PRINTING FORMS.

(Application led SAept. 4, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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- UNITED STATES PATENT @Errol-i."

GEORGE EQMCINDOE, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSTGNOE OE TWO- THIEDS To JAMES w. MCINDOE OE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, AND` ARTHUR-E. WHITNEY, OE WINCHESTEE, MASSACHUSETTS. y'

MACHIN FORYFACILITATOING YTHE PRODUCTION 0F INTAGLIO PRINTING-FORMS.

.SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent N o. 699,220, dated Mayv 6, 1902.

Application led September 4,1901l Serial No. 74,268. (No model.)

."l'o @ZZ whom, it may concern:

`Be it known that I, GEORGE F. MCINDOE, of Boston, iu the county of Suolk and-State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Facilitating the Production of Intaglio Printin g- Forms, of which the following,taken in con- ,ncction with the accompanying drawings, isn a specification. A Y

My invention relates to a machine for facilitating the production of intaglio printingforms; and it consists -in certain Anovel features of construction, arrangement, and cornbination of parts, which will be readily under-- stood by reference to, the description of-the' accoriipauying` drawings. and v to the claims hereto appended, and in which myinvention is clearly pointed out.

Figure 1 of the drawings 'is' an end elevation of a machine embodyingmy invention. Fig. V2 is a side elevation ofv the same with a portion of one end ofthe frame broken away. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the metallic cylinder, upon which is to be formed the printing-surface, its shaft, the reversible guardplate and its carrier, the shaft of said cylinder being cut in section. Fig.l 4 is a section of one of the guard-plate carriers on line A A on Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective -view of a portion of the guard-plate. of a section of a plank of wood the grain of which it is desirable to reproduce upon paper.

The object of my invention is the production of a machine by the use of which the making of intaglio printing-forms for printing upon paper or other suitable sheet or web material in imitation of thegrain of a given piece of wood may be conveniently and expeditiously done, as set forth in another application of mine, tiled December 28, 1900, Serial No. 41,366, in which the machine which formsthe subjectof this application is'shown auddescribed, but not claimed.

In the drawings, 1 1 are the side frames of the machine connected together by suitable tie-girths, as 2, and each of said frames is provided With the upwardly-projecting slotted housings 3, in which are fitted the bearing- Fig. 6 is a plan' boxes 4, in which is mounted the shaft 5 of the metallic cylinder 6, which is to be developed into an intaglio printing-form. The

cylinder Gris removablymounted on the shaft 5, so as to be readily transferred to a shaft of ,the printing-press, or the cylinder'with its shaft may beV transferred to the printingpress when the printing-form has been completed upon its periphery,` Upon one end of lthe shaft 5 is secured the spur gear-wheel7,

f frames'1, and said bed has formed upon or secured to its under side one or more toothed racks 11, with which the gear-wheels 12, carried by the shaft 13, engage, so that by rotating said shaft in opposite directions said bed may be reciprocated in an obvious Inanner. The shaft 13 has secured upon one end thereof, outside of thefraine landin the same plane as the gear-wheel 7 onithe shaft 5, the spur gear-Wheel14, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Aleverl' is pivoted to one of the housings 3 at land is secured in the desired adjusted position by the pin 17, which passes through a hole in said lever and into either one or the other of two holes 18 in the boss 19, formed upon the outer side of said housingj The lever 15 has set therein a stud 20, upon lwhich is mounted, so as to be revolublethereon, the pinion 21, to 1 the hub of which is secured the crank-arm 22,v provided with handle 23, by which said pinionmay berevolved in either direction at the ,will of the operator.

When the pin 17 is in the upper one of the two holes 18 in the boss 19, the pinion 21 will be in engagement with 'theteeth' of the gearwheel 7, as shown in Fig., 2. n the pin 17, moving the leverl downward, and inserting said pin in the lower one of said two holes 18 the pinion 21 will 'be disengaged from the gear 7 and engaged with the gear-wheel 14, when, if the crank-arm 22 be rotated, the bed 8 will be moved endwise in either direction, according to the direction in which said vcrank-,arm is revolved.

By removing j The bed S has formed upon or secured to its upper surface a plurality of upwardly-projecting lugs or ribs 24, in whichare fitted the set-screws 25, by which the board or plank of wood 2G is firmly secured in the desired position ou said bed.

The housings 3 are provided with the caps 27, having the upwardly-projecting forked stands 28, in the fork of which is fitted the half-boxes 29, supported upon and adjustable by the set-screws 30 and in which rests the shaft 31, upon which is mounted the elastic roller 32, which is preferably constructed in the same manner and of the same material as the inking-rolls ordinarily used on printingpresses.

The frames 1 have also secured to or formed upon their upper edges at one side of the housings 3 the forked stands 33, to which are fitted half-boxes 34, supported on and adjustable by the stop-screws 35, substantially the same as in the case of the stand 2S.

The shaft 5 has secured thereon by the setscrews 36 the collars 37, provided with the radiating ears 3S and 39, arranged at right angles to each other and provided, respectively, with the guard-plate-adjusting setscrews 50 and 51 and connected together by the segmental web 40, having a thickness less than the width of the main body of said collar.

The webs 40 have pivoted thereto t-he forked lower ends of the rectangular blocks 41, the upper ends of which have adjustably set therein the studs 42, in bearings in the upper ends of which is mounted the rockershaft 43, which carries the guard-plate 44, having a thin knife-edge and extending radially fromsaid shaft to such a distance that when it and the studs 42 are in either of the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 3, with the setscrews 50 and 51 properly adjusted, the free knife-edge of said guard-plate will be in the vertical plane cutting longitudinally through the axis of 'the cylinder (3, the object of said set-screws 50 and 51 being to render it practical to bring the knife-edge of the guardplate 44 into exactly the same position relative to averticalplane cutting longitudinally through the axis of the cylinder G whether the blocks 41 and studs 42 are in the position shown in Fig. 2 or in the position shown in Fig. 3, thereby avoiding the expense of very much finer workmanship, which would be necessary in fitting up the guard-plate if said set-screws were not employed.

The operation of my invention is as follows: In producing intaglio printingforms from which an exact imitation of the grain of any given piece of wood may be printed upon paper or other flat thin material the piece of wood 26 is prepared by reducing it to an even thickness with a smooth surface, said piece of wood being rectangular in outline and must have a length from c to b (see Fig. 6) somewhat greater than the circumference ot' the metallic cylinder 6, and has a notch 47 cut in its edge near one end, which will appear as a notch in the acid-resisting coating when transferred from the wood to the elastic roller and will serve as a guide-mark for use in connection with the shield or guardplate 44 for locating said elastic roller on the metallic cylinder before revolving the same. The piece of wood, properly prepared as above stated and treated to remove the gums, as described in my before-cited application, is secured in position upon lthe bed 8 by means of the set-screws 25, and its uppersurface has applied thereto a thin coating of any well-known acid-resisting paste-like material capable of being spread by an ink-distributing roller.' The operator then places the elastic roller 32 in the position indicated by the dotted circle at the right of the housings 3, with its shaft resting in the half-boxes 34. (See Fig. 2.) The lever 15 is placed in position to canse the pinion 21 to engage the teeth ofthe gearwheel 14 and is secured in said position by the pin 17. He then operates the crank-arm 22 by moving it about the stud 20 in the direction indicated by the arrow f on Fig. 2, causing the shaft 13 to be revolved in the direction indicated by the arrow it on Fig. 2 to feed the bed 8, with the wood thereon, toward the right of Fig. 2, with the upper surface of the wood in contact with the periphery of the elastic roller 32, said roller being revolved by contact with the wood in an obvious manner 'until said roll has madeacomplete revolution and the acid-resisting coating has been transferred from the wood basis to said elastic roller. The next operation is to transfer said acid-resisting coating from the elastic rollerto the metallic cylinder G, which is later to be developed into an intaglio printing-form. To accomplish this, the elastic roller is removed from its position indicated by the dotted circle at the right of the housing 3 to a position above said cylinder 6, with its shaft resting in the half-boxes 29 and its periphery in contact with said cylinder G, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2. It has been found, however, that when the comparatively heavy elastic roller is placed above said cylinder and in direct contact therewith before rotary motion is imparted thereto the surface of the elastic roller is' so disturbed by the pressure of its weight upon the curved surface of the metallic cylinder as to produce a slightly-distorted appearance of the design along the line of contact where the transferring commences when said cylinder and roller are revolved. To obviate this difficulty, I employ the shield or guard-plate 44, mounted as hereinbefore described, and before placing the elastic roller in position above the metallic cylinder, as shown in Fig. 2, I move the cylinder 6 slightly about its axis in the direction indicated bythe arrow g on Fig. 2, so that the guard-plate 44, which moves with said cylinder, will extend slightly beyond IOO IIO

the vertical'planewliich cuts longitudinally through the aXis of said cylinder 6. If these parts are in the position just described when the elastic roller is placed in position above the metalliccylinder 6, with its shaft resting in the boxes 29, the periphery of the elastic roller will rest upon the Vflat upper surface of the guard-plate 44 and will not comein. contact with thev periphery of the cylinder 6 until said cylinder is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow c' on Fig. 2.

In placing the elastic roller 44 inthe position above the cylinder 6 care should be taken that the notch in the acid-resisting coating on said roller produced bythe notch.47 in the edge of the wood basis coincides with the knife-edge of the guard-plate 44 to determine the starting-point of the transfer to the cylinder 6. The lever 15 being adjusted to its uppermost position, so that the pinion 21 is in engagement with the gear-Wheel 7, the crank-arm 22 and-pinion 2l are revolved in the direction indicated by the arrow 7L on,

Fig. 2, and the cylinder 6 and roller 32 are revolved in unison by frictional contact or otherwise in the directions indicated by the arrows i and j, respectively. When the cylinder ,6 has made about three-fourths (more .or less) of Aa revolution, the blocks 41, carrying the studs 42, are moved from contact with the stop-screws into contact with the stopscrews 51, and the guard-plate 44 is turned into the position shown in Fig. 3 by the operator seizing the ends of the shaft 43 and moving it about the axis oftheshaft 5 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 3, and at the same time partially rotating it, so as tomo've the free edge of the guard-plate 44upward and then downward through the arc of a circle tillit rests upon the cylinder 6 in the position shown in Fig. 3, with its thin free edge in exactly the same position relative to a vertical plane cutting longitudinally through the axis ofV said cylinder, as before, and as the rotation of the cylinder 6 continues theedge of the guardplate 44 passes beneath the elastic vroller 32 to raise it from contact with the cylinder 6 and terminate the transfer upon the same line where it commenced. The acid-resisting coating has now been transferred from the elastic roll to the metallic cylinder 6, and said cylinder is removed from the machine and treated as described in my before-cited application to develop itinto an intaglio printingform. To facilitate the handling of the elastic roller 32, Ivform upon each end of 'the shaft 31 of said roll a handle extension 49, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

As a means of increasing or diminishing the pressure of the elastic roller 32 upon the cylinder 6 I mount loosely upon the shaft 31 a plurality of weights 52 and53 at each end` of said roller, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, all or any number of which may be used or all may be removed, according to the requirements of anyindividual case. j p s What I claim as new, and-desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is-

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a longitudinally-reciprocating bed; means for securing thereon in a vfixedy position theretoa wood basis; a shaft located above said bed; a metallic cylinder to be developed into an intaglio printing-form mounted on said shaft with its lowest portion at such a vdistance above said bed that the Woodv basis` may befed beneathl it without touching it; an elastic roller; means for alter- Vnately supporting said elastic rollers-,in positions to contact with the wood basis on said bed, and with the peripheryof saidmetallic cylinder; means for reciprocating said bed;- and means for intermittently rotating said v cylinder andelastic roller.

2. In'a machine ofthe class described, the Y combinationwith side frames eachprovided Y withthe housings 3, andthe forkedstands 28 and 33; the half-boxes 29 and.34, adjustably mounted `in the forked stands 28 and33, respectively; ahorizontally-reciprocatingbed Y and adapted to .be alternately mounted in the half-boxes 34 with its periphery in contact withthe wood basis. on said bed, and in the Ico half-boxes 29 withits periphery in contact with the periphery of said metallic cylinder 6.`

3. In a machine of the class described the combination With-the metal cylinder 6, and l the elastic roller 32, and means for revolving said cylinder and roller in unison, ofthevcollars 37l secured upon the shaft of thecylinder 6, and each provided with the ears 38 and 39 arrangedat right angles to each other.; a. t shaft-supporting arm Apivoted to each ofsaidv collars 37 between said. ears 38.and.39;l the IIO rocker-shaft 43mounted in bearings in said supporting-arms; and-the` guard-plate 44 car.-

ried by said shaft,.and constructed and arranged to operate-substantially as described; l 4. The combination of the shaft 5; the cylinder`6 and gear-wheel 7 mounted on'saidy shaft ,the elastic roller 321nounted in `bear-V ings above said cylinder-, and arrangedto,

be rotated by contact therewith; .the collars 37 firmly secured upon said, shaft 5, andfeach right angles to eachother; a block 41 pivprovided with ears 38and 39 arranged at.-

oted to each of said collars between the ears l- 38 and 39; a stud 42 adjustably set in eachof said blocks 41; the shaftl43 mountedin'bear- -f ingsin said studs; the guard-plate 44Jcarried by said shaft 43; the stop set-screws 50 and 5l; and means for revolving said cylinder G In testimony whereof I have signed my and roller 32 in unison. name to this speeioation, in the presence of xo 5. The combination of the metallic cylinder two subscribing witnesses, on this 28th day of 6; the elastic rollers 32; means for rotattimgr August, A. D. 1901.

5 said cylinder and roller in unison; and a plu- GEORGE F. MCINDOF).

rztlity of removable Weights 52, 53, mounted Witnesses: on the shaft of said elastic roller, Substan- N. C. LOMBARD,

tially as described. ALBERT E. TEMPLE. 

